Mauritius politics

Absent from the country for five years, Rooplall Beerjeeraz has been in detention since his return to the country on Saturday August 5. He was arrested as soon as he set foot on Mauritian soil. The businessman is facing a provisional charge of overpayment under the Financial Anti Money Laundering Act.

On several occasions, his trial in the intermediate court had been postponed, due to his absence. In court, an Interpol representative explained that the police had lost track of him.

He disappeared from circulation in 2018 after obtaining a “variation order” from justice. The Central Criminal Investigation Department (CCID), via Interpol, had found him in Thailand, but the steps had not been able to lead to his arrest abroad.

Rooplall Beerjeeraz appeared before the Financial Crimes Division in a trial he has been responding to since 2018. He was released on bail on Monday in the Port-Louis court. CCID investigators arrested him soon after. He was still in the precincts of the Port-Louis court.

Since then, the CCID has kept him in detention pending his hearing in the case of embezzlement and fraud of Rs 95 million, to the detriment of Maubank.

He will be confronted with various crimes: embezzlement and use of false documents, among others, to obtain bank loans.

He had obtained, among other things, a loan of Rs 40 million from the Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank (MPCB) in 2015, through fictitious guarantees.

The businessman will be questioned at the Central Barracks about bank loans he took out through companies he created from 2010 to 2015.

In July 2022, his wife was arrested by the CCID. Marie Marjorie Nathalie Armance is suspected of embezzlement of tens of millions of rupees, to the detriment of the former MPCB, today Maubank, in the case of toxic loans. The CCID also suspects her of being involved in other similar crimes. The amount of money embezzled would amount to Rs 95 million.

Trust her husband

The modus operandi of the duo Rooplall Beerjeeraz and Marie Marjorie Nathalie Armance was to open bank accounts for companies. And then he applied for loans. Once the money was credited, they diverted it to other bank accounts, some of them overseas. And they weren’t repaying the loans. The CCID has evidence showing that the woman obtained a loan of Rs 10 million through a company in 2012.

She told CCID investigators that she trusted her husband and signed documents blindly. According to the CCID, in November 2012, Marie Marjorie Nathalie Armance provided false data to obtain bank loans. False guarantees (real estate) had also been used during the proceedings.

In March 2022, the anti-corruption commission had examined the loans granted by MauBank. The case of loans reaching approximately Rs 1.5 billion, granted by the former MPCB, had broken out. Companies belonging to brothers Rakesh and Prameshwar Gooljaury, Mohamed Alykhan and Rooplall Beerjeeraz had been the beneficiaries.

The Kreol Morisien (KM) will be the first subject to be considered by the “National Examinations Board”. This will be under the aegis of the University of Mauritius (UoM), which will act as an “Awarding body”. This is what is provided for by the Education (Amendment) Bill, debated in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

“This is a historic step forward. This is how Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun spoke about the presentation of the Education (Amendment) Bill to the National Assembly.

The primary aim is to amend the Education Act to establish a National Examinations Board (NEB) to organize and conduct examinations in certain subjects at secondary school level. Another objective is to allow the University of Mauritius (UoM) to be the ‘Awarding body’ at the secondary level, following the recommendations of the National Examinations Board (NEB).

During her presentation at second reading to the National Assembly on Tuesday, the Minister of Education revealed that Kreol Morisien (KM) will be the first subject to be presented for the School Certificate (SC) exams, whose certification will be under the responsibility of the University of Mauritius (UoM).

Conversations with Cambridge

Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun thus maintained that the “National Examinations Board” will be responsible for holding examinations at the secondary level, setting up “rules and regulations”, developing examination questionnaires, correcting examinations, preparing examiners’ reports on candidates’ performance, among other things.

A Board will be formed and the chairperson will be appointed by the Prime Minister. Members will be representatives of the Ministry of Education, Office of the Prime Minister, University of Mauritius (UoM), Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES), Private Secondary Education Authority (PSEA); from the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), among others.

Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun also revealed that in 2018, the MES had entered into discussions with Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) to offer the Kreol Morisien at School Certificate (SC) level. The body indicated that it did not have the resources, mainly people, to develop and conduct the KM exam as a subject.

The progress

• In 2012, Kreol Morisien entered Grade 1.
• In 2017, the first cohort took the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) exams. The success rate recorded is 79.6%. The following year, it rose to 77.8% and in 2019 to 78.8%.
• In 2021, the Kreol Morisien is offered at the National Certificate of Education (NCE) level. The success rate is 96.6%.

Arianne Navarre-Marie: “Why a parallel MES? »

Speaking during the debates on the Education (Amendment) Bill, in Parliament on Tuesday, Arianne Navarre-Marie, of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), asks why create a parallel body to the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES). In particular, with the National Examinations Board (NEB) proposed by the bill presented by the Minister of Education.

“The NEB will be responsible for organizing the exams, preparing them and correcting them. But with what staff? Why set up a NEB, when the MES has been organizing exams for years? Why not entrust this task to the MES which already has the skills and expertise? she asks.

The NEB will organize exams for specific subjects with certifications from the University of Mauritius (UoM), including the Kréol Morisien which will be concerned.

Arianne Navarre-Marie also asks why the chairman of the board of directors will be chosen by the Prime Minister. “What makes you believe that he won’t be a political agent yet? The MES is the organization that manages the national and international examinations. We will now have two organizations with the same responsibility. What is the schedule? Is it about controlling everything and leaving nothing to Cambridge? There is no reason for a parallel body”.

For Arianne Navarre-Marie, if it is only a question of organizing examinations for the Kreol Morisien, “why not entrust the responsibility to a unit within the MES? This will avoid wasting public money by creating another parastatal body”.

MP MMM: “Don’t shout at me!”

During the intervention of Dorine Chukowry, Parliamentary Private Secretary, during the debates on the Education (Amendment) Bill, a lively exchange took place between the deputy MMM Arianne Navarre-Marie and the Speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer.

While she launched to the speaker, “Stop your low level politics”, the Speaker had to take back the purple deputy by saying, “You do not have the right to make speeches when your turn is over”. On which, Arianne Navarre-Marie had to retort: ​​”She can not say anything”. In response, Sooroojdev Phokeer was to launch in an angry tone: “The population is listening to you”.

Not appreciating the Speaker’s tone very little, Arianne Navarre-Marie had to tell him to “Don’t shout at me” several times while the Speaker continued to address her in the same tone. “You’re bullying women in Parliament”, was then the reproach of the deputy. “You lower the dignity of women”, was to reply the Speaker, before inviting Arianne Navarre-Marie to “retire from the hemicycle”.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, schools have not been able to operate as they should. As a result, many students fall behind on their initial study program. In order not to penalize them, amendments have been made to the age criterion. They concern students born between 2000 and 2016.

A circular from the Private Secondary Education Authority (PSEA), dated March 2, was sent to managers of private colleges. Thus, students entering Grade 7 who normally had to be 13 years old are also accepted at the age of 14. Those joining at Grade 12 can now be 19 years old instead of 18 years old. The age limit for staying in college is increased to 21 from 20.

In addition, the age limit for taking the National Certificate of Education (NCE) 2023 has been revised. It is 19 years for Grade 9 and Grade 9+ (“extended program”) repeaters.

The rector of Medco Bhujoharry de La Tour Koenig, Didier Moutou said he welcomed this decision by the Ministry of Education. “I appreciate the Department of Education’s decision to grant our request to not only allow more students to take the NCE examinations, despite their advanced age, but also to consider those for the promotion in Grade 12. The students will be able to continue their studies serenely”.

For him, the happiness would have been at its height, if the request of the persons in charge for Education concerning obtaining the 4 credits to pass in Grade 12 had been accepted.